When you write the word ‘banana’, does you always sing the line from Gwen Steffani’s Hollaback Girl? I think I’d spell it wrong every time if it weren’t for that song.
Anyway, moving on.
Confession. I don’t like bananas. Not on their own anyway. There’s something about the texture that just doesn’t do it for me. However, blend them into a bread filled with sugar, chocolate and oil and I’m a huge fan.
I’ve tried loads of banana bread variations in the last few weeks and the ingredients list has grown arms and legs. I now always put in walnuts and vegan chocolate, so it’s pretty flipping indulgent. Nothing wrong with that though because it tastes amazing.
This after a big cycle or run with an Oatly coffee is my idea of perfection.
Banana, walnut and chocolate bread
Ingredients
- 4 bananas
- 100 g walnuts
- 125 ml vegetable oil
- 225 g self-raising flour (sieved)
- 50 g vegan chocolate buttons (or bar of vegan chocolate chopped)
- 260 g brown sugar (i use coconut nectar sugar)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan), 400°F or gas mark 6.
- Mash 3 and a half bananas in a bowl. Keep half a banana aside to put on top of the bread later.
- Add the oil, sugar and vanilla extract to a bowl. Whisk everything together.
- Add in the self-raising flour and the cinnamon.
- Add the vegan chocolate drops and walnuts. For the walnuts, I blend about 70g of them and add the remaining 30g in whole for some extra crunch.
- Place all of your mixture in a bread tin that’s lined with baking paper.
- With your half banana, cut in two and place on top of the mixture. Sprinkle with other mixed nuts if you fancy it.
- Cook in the oven for 60 minutes.
I’m Gina, a Scottish lass teaching myself how to cook great plant-based grub while learning about our food system.
